Different Perspectives
by Eldar Lupus
Summary: Narumi's and Hirotaka's perspectives on certain events that happen in the anime.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hi, thanks for stopping by! This is just a short story from Narumi's perspective, thinking back on what happened the first time she went over to Hirotaka's apartment. Hope you enjoy!

Narumi's P.O.V.

They had been dating for a while, but it oftentimes seemed like they were still just childhood friends. They really hadn't kissed too many times, and when they did it didn't feel right. Not that they didn't want to kiss each other; they did. Well, she thought they both wanted to kiss each other. Most of the time. Some of the time. She still wasn't actually quite sure. She definitely like Hirotaka (more than she cared to admit, actually), but she still wasn't sure about kissing him. She had thought about it before, imagined it several times, actually, but when his face was actually in front of her, she froze. She wasn't sure how to go about actually kissing him. _I mean, it's not like I haven't kissed anyone before, but we've been friends for forever, so how are we supposed to suddenly switch over to dating mode?_ She was still surprised that he had even suggested going out in the first place, and had said it so casually at that. _Then again, everything he does seems so casual. Hiro and his stubborn stoic face. I know what he's thinking about more than anyone, and even I have a hard time reading his face sometimes_. She thought back to the first time she had been over to his apartment. She hadn't known at the time that their office co-workers would be coming over later. She had been sitting at his table in the living room, working herself up into an anxious fret (thinking about things that sometimes happen between two dating adults late at night), when he had walked into the room.

"Narumi. Do you want to shower?"

"Huh? Already?"

"Huh? You're sweaty, right? Here. Beer."

Narumi was already blushing as he handed the beer to her. Taking the beer and opening it to distract herself, she thought, _Calm down! There's nothing to be afraid of. It's only Hirotaka, who's famous for no one being able to tell whether he's awake or sleeping with his eyes open!_ She almost grinned a little to herself at the memory, but the still present nerves wouldn't let her. _He wouldn't try pulling a fast one. I know better than anyone that he doesn't have the guts..._ but her thoughts were cut off as Hirotaka leaned towards her, his arm snaking around her back. She looked up at him, only one eye visible through his glasses, the other being stubbornly blocked by a light glaring across the lens. How she wanted to remove those glasses to get a better look at those eyes...

He leaned closer, and her breath hitched in her throat. _Does my breath smell okay? Wait, I just drank beer. But he smokes and drinks himself, so he shouldn't mind. Is he really going to do this? Is he really going to kiss me? What if it doesn't stop at just kissing?_

Then a thought stopped all others. She leaned back against the cute plush pillow on the floor.

"Huh? Wait...Hiro..." _I'm wearing beige underwear right now! I'm not ready for this! At least wait until I'm wearing cute underwear!_

He leaned in even closer. His face was just inches away. A heavy blush spread across Narumi's face.

"Uh...wait..." she averted her eyes. "Let's do it on a day when it's pink…"

He reached behind her. "Here we go." As he leaned back, two Wii remotes in his hand, he gave her a confused look. "You wanted a pink one? I don't have any."

She was still leaned back against the pillow, Hirotaka slightly leaning above her, one arm on the table to support himself.

"You're going to play a game?" she asked confusedly, still trying to reconcile herself with what could have happened.

"You're not going to play?" he proffered a remote to her.

"I'll play."

Still blushing, she grabbed a remote from his hand and sat up. _Crisis averted_ , she thought. _So_ w _hy am I feeling disappointed_ _? I'm not even wearing the right underwear today.._ She faced forward, waiting for him to put in a game. _Not that my underwear would impact our kissing, but.._ She sighed inwardly. _I still have a long way to go._

 **A/N:** Alright, so that's it for the first bit. Sorry about the end; I'm still working on writing proper endings. Reviews are always appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Another short story, another perspective...this is from the episode when Hirotaka and Narumi went on a date at the amusement park.

Hirotaka's P.O.V.

He had wanted to hold her hand at the amusement park; they still hadn't gotten around to holding hands in public yet. Not all couples did that, and that was fine, but when it already felt like they were just childhood friends who were grown-up hanging out at an amusement park..he wanted to feel like they were actually dating. Like they were actually boyfriend and girlfriend. He had reached out his hand to hold hers, but she had suddenly turned around and suggested sitting down on a bench, so he had quickly pulled his hand away.

Once they were on the bench, his bloody feet having been taken care of, he sat up and looked at her. She was staring straight ahead, deep in thought. So close to him and yet so far. He needed to know. Needed to know that they were really more, that she really wanted to be more than friends, that she was really okay with dating him. That she actually wanted to be his girlfriend, that she actually wanted him to be her boyfriend, and not just for the convenience of it. She had asked him a similar question back when they had first started dating, but he had never asked the same of her.

"Narumi, do you…" he hesitated before continuing, gathering courage to ask his question, "enjoy being with me?"

A pause.

"It won't work for us."

His eyes widened.

She turned to him, a sad smile on her face.

"Let's just end it."

He felt his heart sink. _So, she really doesn't want to be with me, after all. It was just convenient to have me as a boyfriend for tables at cons, and for grinding and leveling up in video games. She doesn't actually like me or see me as a man at all._

A pig snout on his lips stopped further thoughts from forming.

"This thing! You've had enough, right?" Narumi was nervously holding the piggy bank in her hands. "There aren't that many people here now. We're so nervous…"

 _That's what she meant!_ He thought, feeling his heat beat normally again. _I was scared for a moment!_

"We can't talk at all! Let's end it!"

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Quickly reverting back to his stoic face, he said,

"Then we're done."

"Yesterday's anime was so good, right? My favorite character was so cute! The graphics were so amazing! The production team is like a god! Respect!" Her face lit up as she bubbled out all the otaku talk she had been bottling up inside her all day.

"You're a fish who returned to the sea."

"I feel so liberated! Depriving yourself is never good!" She laughed loudly towards the sky.

 _Is this backlash? She's much more disappointing than normal. But I feel more relaxed now. Narumi looks like she's having fun. I'm glad._ He let a soft smile grace his face. _It's so simple. Oh, well. I'm okay having everything just as normal for now._

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a small black package being thrust into his space.

"Here.'

"What's that?"

"It's for you."

He held it up to the light.

"Don't look through it!"

He shook it.

"Don't shake it!"

He looked at it.

"Why don't you try opening it?" She held a small pout on her face.

"It's nothing big," she said as he started opening it. "You might feel disappointed."

His eyes widened a little in surprise as he took the present out of the package.

"Earrings?"

"Right! Earrings! Were you expecting something? Too bad it wasn't a game!" She said, putting on her fake bright smile. He could tell she was nervous about giving it to him. "I know it's a bit of a strange gift. But earrings and acting tough didn't really fit with your image. You look quiet, and you look plain. And your eyes sag!" She kept talking, a nervous tick of hers. She couldn't stop when she got very excited or very nervous.

"It really is weird," he said, looking over at her.

"That's why I wanted to see.." she said, looking away from him, "the part of you that wanted to grow up fast." She twirled a bit of her hair with her fingers. "The part of you I've never seen before."

His eyes widened. _Maybe I'm not okay with things being the same as they were back then. Maybe she's not either. Maybe she also.._

"Well…you're already an adult now. Try them on. I have a mirror.."'

He reached towards her, brushing aside the hair that she had been playing with, effectively cutting off the sentence that was forming in her mouth. A blush spread across her face. He had hardly made a move to lean in towards her when she pulled back, a hand on the space were his had been, her face thoroughly red.

"When did you pierce your ears?" he said as if he had not been about to kiss her. _Great, I finally work up the courage to try and kiss her when there's a good mood going, and she gets nervous, and I act like nothing even happened. I wish I wasn't so stoic all the time._

"Don't pay attention to that! They're clip-ons!" She defended herself as if she needed an excuse. After a pause, she leaned back. "They happened to..have different colors. So, I ended up getting these too…" She looked down, a blush still painting her face.

He started laughing. _She really is just too cute sometimes. She wanted us to have matching earrings. Maybe we really can just move at our own pace._

"What? What are you laughing about?" Her blush deepening slightly.

He just continued laughing.

"I bet you think I'm childish!" She got up and grabbed hold of the front of his shirt.

"I did."

I bet you think there was a better way to give these to you!" She shook him, squeezing shut her eyes.

"I did."

"Stop laughing!" She pulled one fist back as if to hit him.

He reached up a grabbed her face in both his hands. She immediately stopped and opened her eyes.

"Narumi.." He leaned in and pulled her close. Her lips were so close to his. He wanted to kiss her. She parted her lips. _Not like this. I don't want it in a moment of confusion. I want her to know undoubtedly that she likes me. That she wants only me._ He turned his head to the side and hugged her. He could hear her small sound of confusion.

"Um..Hirotaka?"

"Thanks. I'll treasure these. I'll wear these everyday."

"You can't wear them at work."

 _I'm pretty childish too…_


End file.
